In the general media mini-storm over Julius Malema's opening parliamentary salvo, several things seem to be lacking.
First, it is worth pointing out that the EFF completely blotted out the official Opposition. The fact is that where the DA leadership has neglected Parliament, the EFF has already shown how powerfully that forum can be used. If the DA is going to compete with this, it is going to have to raise its game considerably. Its best parliamentarian is David Maynier. Logically, he should be the party's parliamentary leader but even if that is ruled out under the DA's racial preference regime, it would be sensible to give him a larger role.
Second, in an age of disciplined party majorities, what is Parliament for ? Bernard Crick answered that in effect it was the key forum in the "permanent election campaign", that politicians used its debates in order to try to reach out to constituencies outside Parliament in order to win their support at the next elections. This is, indeed, exactly what Malema did - and most effectively. There is little doubt that if he can continue to stage such gripping theatricals at regular intervals, the EFF vote is only going to grow. So much for predictions that the EFF would not thrive in Parliament.
Third, both the rulings by the Speaker were preposterous. There was absolutely no reason why Mr. Malema should not have been allowed to allude to Blade Nzimande's faction battles against Thabo Mbeki, if he wanted to and even his accusation that the ANC government had been guilty of a massacre at Marikana should have been allowed. As he pointed out, who else do the police work for but the government ? This would certainly have been permitted as robust parliamentary speech in, say, the House of Commons. Parliamentary free speech is supposed to be prized and protected. The truth is that the Speaker's rulings merely drew attention to the fact that she, like the normal Speaker, Baleka Mbete, is a high-ranking ANC official. When she said she was going to "take advice" about Malema's accusations, it seems likely that she meant from Gwede Mantashe, not from lawyers. Both rulings in fact give a good indication of just how badly rattled the ANC is by Malema. There seems little doubt but that there has been an ANC decision to try to shut him down as far as possible.
Finally, why has the DA not been speaking up to make these points and to protect Mr Malema's right to free speech ? Such freedoms are indivisible and the DA must, if it has any shred of liberal conscience left, defend Malema's rights just as much as anyone else's.
The DA should also be pointing out how outrageous it is to have the Chairperson of the ANC as the Speaker, especially given Baleka Mbete's utterly disgraceful role in the Gold Fields affair. And really I would have hoped to hear the DA speaking up during the election campaign against the undeniably unfair treatment of the EFF, which repeatedly found itself shut out of public halls and buildings.